Congresswoman Barbara Lee Applauds Launch of HHS’ Food is Medicine Initiative Toolkit

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Applauds Launch of HHS' Food is Medicine Initiative Toolkit

WASHINGTON - Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today applauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for releasing the first-ever Food is Medicine Initiative toolkit, an interactive website with resources to advance Food is Medicine (FIM) approaches across the country and help communities to reduce nutrition-related chronic diseases and food insecurity.

"I applaud HHS' efforts to support the development and expansion of Food Is Medicine interventions around the country," said Congresswoman Lee. "The online toolkit will go a long way in helping communities across the country understand how to implement FIM programs and why they are critical to the people they serve. To put it simply: Nutritious foods are the cornerstone of good health. I look forward to working alongside local, state, and federal stakeholders as we continue to work to ending hunger and to transforming our 'disease care system' to a true health care system."

Two years ago, the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the second ever White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health - the first gathering of its kind in over 50 years. The conference brought together stakeholders from across the country - people with lived experience of hunger, medical professionals, policy makers, advocates, researchers, farmers - to craft a national strategy to end hunger in this country once and for all.

Building on this collective energy, the HHS hosted its first-ever Food is Medicine Summit in January 2024 and developed a Food is Medicine initiative in response to $2 million, secured by Rep. Lee, in the FY23 federal Appropriations Omnibus to begin a National Food as Medicine Program.

In her time serving in Congress, Congresswoman Lee has fought persistently to ensure all Americans have access to health, nutritious food and stay healthy in everyday life:

• On September 17, 2024, Rep. Lee introduced the National Food as Medicine Program Act to establish, implement, and expand Food as Medicine programs across to the country to reduce nutrition-related chronic conditions and improve health.
• On March 21, 2024, Rep. Barbara Lee questioned Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack about UDSA's efforts to scale up and improve access to food as medicine services during a House Appropriations Committee.
• On January 30, 2024, Rep. Lee delivered a speech where she discussed the importance of FIM, the opportunities ahead, and the important role HHS and the Biden-Harris Administration can play in accelerating patient access to FIM-interventions.
• On September 8, 2023, as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Poverty Task Force, Rep. Lee, alongside Reps. McGovern, DeLauro, Scott, Bush, and Garcia, led more than 24 members expressing support for USDA's efforts to issue timely guidance regarding exemptions for people experiencing homelessness, veterans, and youth who aged out of foster care from SNAP work-reporting requirements.
• On May 30, 2023, Reps. Lee and Bush co-lead the introduction of an amendment to remove the expanded GOP work requirements on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in H.R. 3746, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
• On May 11, 2023, led calls in Congress for President Biden to ensure that in any budget discussions with then-Speaker McCarthy, negotiations to reach a budget agreement does not undermine social safety net programs, such as SNAP and Medicaid.
• On March 21, 2023, Reps. Lee, Brown, and Evans, alongside Senators Casey and Gillibrand, introduced the Healthy Food Financing Initiative Reauthorization Act to increase access to affordable, healthy food options in traditionally underserved areas, create and preserve quality jobs, and revitalize low-income communities.
• On March 16, 2023, Reps. Lee and McGovern led more than 23 Members of Congress in calling the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to lead a national Food as Medicine pilot program that is modeled after the ALL IN Recipe4Health initiative, located in Alameda County, California.
• On March 10, 2023, Reps. Lee and Adams reintroduced the Improving Access to Nutrition Act, which seeks to lift the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program's (SNAP) three-month limit.
• On February 24, 2023, Rep. Lee and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra hosted a roundtable discussion on ways food can serve as medicine on Friday afternoon in Alameda, California.
• On December 20, 2022, Rep. Lee secured $2 million in the FY23 federal Appropriations Omnibus directing HHS to begin a National Food as Medicine Program.

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Congresswoman Lee is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. She serves as Co-Chair of the Steering and Policy Committee, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Chair Emeritus of the Progressive Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Health Task Force, and Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus. She also serves as Chair of the Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity. As a member of the House Democratic Leadership, she is the highest-ranking Black woman appointed to House Leadership.